Highlights of the Day
Asian Markets
Asian Stocks drifted higher as a landmark meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took place in Singapore and ahead of central bank meetings in the coming days. |
U.S. Markets
U.S. stock-market indexes closed mostly higher, though the US 30 faded to end essentially flat within the final minutes of the session as investors braced for a highly anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. |
Today's News
Kim Jong-un has committed to “complete denuclearisation” as the North Korean leader met US President Donald Trump in a historic summit after a year of exchanging warmongering threats and personal insults. In a joint agreement signed by the pair, they vowed to establish “new” relations between America and North Korea in a document signed in Singapore.
British American Tobacco PLC reported a solid performance in the first half of 2018, though it again warned of currency headwinds for the rest of the year. BAT said the business “continues to perform well”, and it is meeting expectations. It still expects adjusted revenue and profit growth to be weighted to its second half, with the first half ending June.
AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly said they would discontinue the global phase III clinical trials of their Alzheimer drug after an independent data monitoring committee concluded the trials were unlikely to meet their primary objects. An independent data monitoring committee concluded that both the Amaranth trial and the daybreak-ALZ trial were unlikely to meet their primary endpoints and should be stopped.
Rio Tinto said it had appointed Jakob Stausholm as its new chief financial officer to succeed Chris Lynch. Stausholm was most recently CFO of shipping group A.P. Moller – Maersk and had also held senior roles at ISS, Statoil and Shell. He would join Rio Tinto on 3 September. Lynch would retire from Rio Tinto on 30 September, following a smooth transition to Stausholm.
Randgold Resources developsaid a feasibility study on the Massawa gold project in Senegal was nearing finalisation and a ment decision was scheduled by the end of this year. Chief executive Mark Bristow and his executive team were currently in Senegal to inspect the project and update the Senegalese government on its progress, the company said.
Boohoo said its combination of fast fashion at low prices had got the group off to a strong start to the year, confirming its position as one of the winners in a brutal retail market. Founded in Manchester, northern England, in 2006, Boohoo has expanded rapidly with the purchase of the PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal brands.
Ted Baker said revenue had increased 4.2% so far in its 2018 fiscal year despite severe storms keeping some shoppers sidelined in the UK and US. For the 19 weeks from 28 January to 9 June, the company said sales also grew 7.5% in constant currency terms.Total retail sales including e-commerce increased by 0.7%, or 3.6% in constant currency, and average retail square footage rose by 5.7% to 420,799 square feet.
Oil Prices edged up alongside global markets as U.S. President Donald Trump said a summit in Singapore with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un had made “a lot of progress,” boosting hopes of a deal to end a nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula.
Gold Prices continue to move sideways ahead of the Fed and ECB meetings this week. Prices have been bouncing back and forth since mid-May and are likely to remain in a tight range until the ECB and Fed plays their hands.
Companies Reporting this week
Day |
Companies |
Monday: |
Games Workshop |
Tuesday: |
Halma |
Wednesday: |
Mulberry |
Thursday: |
Aveva |
Friday: |
– |
Early Market Movements
Market |
Index |
Change |
% Change |
UK 100 |
7,749.3 |
+11.8 |
+0.2% |
UK 250 |
21,340.0 |
+21.2 |
+0.1% |
GER 30 |
12,903.4 |
+60.4 |
+0.5% |
FRA 40 |
5,488.6 |
+14.7 |
+0.3% |
U.S. 30 |
25,322.31 |
+5.78 |
+0.0% |
U.S. 500 |
2,782.0 |
+2.97 |
+0.1% |
OIL (Crude) |
76.79 |
+0.33 |
+0.4% |
GOLD |
1,297.95 |
-2.54 |
-0.2% |
UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)
Company |
Price |
Change |
% Change |
Centrica |
147.85 |
+3.25 |
+2.3% |
Halma |
1453 |
+31 |
+2.2% |
IMI |
1223 |
+49 |
+4.2% |
Admiral |
1895.5 |
-19.5 |
-1.0% |
Severn Trent |
1902 |
-13.5 |
-0.7% |
Crest Nicholson |
421.88 |
-24.4 |
-5.5% |
Latest Broker Views
Company |
Broker |
Recommendation |
Price |
Target |
HSBC |
Barclays |
Equal Weight |
730 |
750 |
Rentokil Initial |
RBC |
Outperform |
352.2 |
410 |
Reckitt Benckiser |
CS |
Underperform |
5885 |
5500 |
Tesco |
HSBC |
Buy |
249.1 |
290 |
Forthcoming Economic Data
Time/Date |
Previous |
Forecast |
Outcome |
9.30am: U.K. Average Earnings Index 3m/y |
2.6% |
2.5% |
– |
1.30pm: U.S. CPI m/m |
0.2% |
0.2% |
– |
1.30pm: U.S. Core CPI m/m |
0.1% |
0.1% |
– |
Sources:
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6008087/Ted-Baker-sales-growh-slows-to-4-point-2pct-after-severe-weather.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6008090/AstraZeneca-Eli-Lilly-end-phase-III-clinical-trials-of-Alzheimer-drug.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6008107/British-American-Tobacco-sees-stronger-pound-keeping-a-lid-on-H1-earnings-growth.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GBPJPY:CUR
https://www.forexfactory.com/
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-rises-as-trump-hails-positive-meeting-with-kim-but-rising-output-looms-idUKKBN1J8017